The present invention relates to a cab for a motor-driven tractor vehicle, comprising a body that has a rear body wall and side walls that are provided with side panels that form an extension of at least a part of each side wall in a backward direction to a plane at a distance from the rear body wall and that are arranged to bridge an air space between the rear body wall and a front wall on a connected trailer in order to deflect the wind from the said space between the rear body wall of the cab and the front wall of the trailer while the vehicle is being driven, with the front edge of at least one side panel being joined to the rear edge of the associated side wall in such a way that it can pivot, in order to enable the side panel to be swung between a backward-directed position and a sideways-directed position.
In particular tractor vehicles for semi-trailers have cab bodies with side panels, so-called side spoilers, of the type described above, that are intended to prevent the formation of eddies in the air space between the rear wall of the cab and front wall of the semi-trailer, as such eddies increase the air resistance of the complete unit. When connecting the semi-trailer to the tractor vehicle, cables and pipes from the tractor vehicle's electrical and compressed-air systems must be connected to the electrical and compressed-air systems of the semi-trailer. The driver connects these cables and pipes manually to connections on the semi-trailer using quick-release connections. In order to be able to do this, the driver must climb up in the space behind the cab and, for this purpose, some form of step arrangement integrated into the tractor vehicle immediately behind the cab is required.
A common solution is to integrate steps into the tractor vehicle's fuel tank that is usually located immediately behind the cab on the side of the chassis, with the outside of the tank in line with the side wall of the vehicle cab. As these steps cannot project out to the side beyond the side of the tank, the steps are designed in such a way that they project into the interior of the tank, which, however, results in them encroaching on the space for fuel. The steps are formed of deep-pressed bowls made of steel plate that are welded into holes cut in the side of the tank, which contributes to increasing the cost of the tank.
It is desirable to achieve an integrated step arrangement for a vehicle cab of the type described in the introduction, that does not encroach on the fuel space in the tank and that, in addition, makes it possible to reduce the cost of manufacturing the tank.
According to an aspect of the invention a side panel is provided that can pivot on the side wall, and that, in the backward-directed position, faces inwards towards the said space with a step arrangement that can be moved between an upper storage position, in which it is at least essentially concealed behind the side panel, and an in-use position, in which it has a part with steps located below the lower edge of the side panel.
By utilizing an existing side panel that can pivot to support the step arrangement, a cheaper solution is achieved, that does not encroach on the tank space. An additional advantage in comparison with the known solution described above, in which the driver must climb up facing inwards towards the vehicle and then turn to face forwards in order to be able to move in a sideways direction into the tight space between the cab and the semi-trailer, is that here the driver climbs up facing forwards and then can move straight away in a sideways direction into the space.